Thursday, November 02, 2006

Thursday 11/02 A.M. Quickie:Knicks Win! Knicks...Win?!?!

Stunner: Knicks win! They blew a massive fourth-quarter lead and it took 3 OTs, but the only thing that matters is that the Knicks are 1-0, with the type of win that they would NEVER have earned a year ago.

It's obvious: The players are so much happier playing for Isiah Thomas than for Larry Brown, it's laughable.

I mentioned it Tuesday in touting Isiah as my predicted NBA Coach of the Year: He needs only to top LB's 23 wins from a year ago to prove that last season was mostly Brown's fault; Thomas is well on his way.

My five most intriguing points from last night's NBA openers:

(1) LeBron (26 pts, 10 reb, 5 ast) continues to have the Wizards' number. And what the hell happened to Gilbert? (2/12 FG)

(3) If Adam Morrison needs 13 shots to score 14 points, he's a long way from that Rookie of the Year award so many want to coronate him with.

(4) Chris Paul, after one game (20 pts, 10 ast, 7 reb) has re-established that he's the best PG in the NBA.

(5) The Lakers are 2-0, and that's WITHOUT Kobe. I repeat from yesterday: It's not crazy to wonder if they're at least as good (if not better) without him (assuming they could get valuable assets for him in a trade).

More on today's biggest news:

The biggest story of the day is tonight's West Virginia-Louisville game, which doubles as a de facto national playoffs semifinal game. More on that later this morning.

Boise St routs Fresno St: Maintains unbeaten season and BCS-bowl dreams. (No, not BCS *title-game* dreams, but how about just crashing the 10-team BCS payout-party?) Yet fans watching closely know that this season, Fresno is a shell of its former competitive self.

Michigan St fires John L. Smith: But now finds itself in the AWK-ward position of having him coach out the string. That's like living with your girl/boyfriend, then breaking up, but yet continuing to live with them. No, it's not pretty. Yes, I'm speaking from experience.

Quick, hide Jake Peavy: The Padres are going to interview Dusty Baker about managing. Just think of all those young pitching arms, just aching to be abused by Baker.

Evgeni Malkin: I believe! 6 goals in his first 6 NHL games sets a new standard in hockey history. I'm no hockey fan, but I can't help but find this kid's talent totally fascinating.

College hoops exhibition season tips off: UNC frosh flex their talent in a rout, but Louisville and Maryland barely survive. No. 1 Florida has its EXHB opener tonight.

Chad Johnson shaves his Mohawk: As promised. Any bets on what his next hairstyle might be? I'm rooting for some kind of weave.

Byron Leftwich practices, but Jack Del Rio isn't saying who his starting QB will be this Sunday. That can't be good for anyone.

43 comments:

Malkin has scored 7 goals in his first 6 games. He is in the midst of doing something that hasn't happened in 89 Years. It's no single season home run record.. but damn is that impressive. Now the question.. who's the better Penguin, Sid the Kid, or Malkin?

I am no NBA fan really.. I kind of watch the standings and that's about it. But is it just me or is scoring way above average right now? Almost half the teams in the league are averaging over 100 pts/game. Yes I understand most teams have only played one game.. but I am used to seeing scores like 87-79, not 106-99.

As par usual, I lost interest in the NBA last night as soon as something better came on (in this case, "Lost").

Although I was pleasantly surprised when I logged into my fantasy basketball team (which I'm sure I'll lose interest in about three weeks from now) and saw Pierce filling up my stat sheet. That was a nice thing to wake up to.

First of all, not many people are touting mr. morrison for ROY; those touting Roy seem much more on target than those touting that rondo kid from boston... How about that buzzerbeater from the young bobcat, though? I still don't know why you decided you hated him so much, though; he'll be decent, although not great; better than reddick, and a guy you will want on the court when you need a bucket to win or tie...

Second of all, thanks for pointing out that the knickerbockers actually won a game last night. Now we can all root for them to go 1-81; good luck trying to find teams as sorry as the grizzlies without gasol all year...

And third, I haven't paid any attention to the ice hockey over the past couple of years, but if that malkin kid keeps it up, I may have to start watching again; pretty amazing.

I absolutely hate the, "Fire the coach and then let him play out the year" thing, and whereas I wouldn't have otherwise, I now feel bad for John L. Smith.

I suppose it serves him right though, especially after he ditched Louisville right before their bowl game to take the MSU job.

Regardless, of the various things that the NCAA does put restrictions on, hiring and firing coaches should be more restricted. No talking to coaches until after bowl games if the team is playing in one. If you fire the coach, release him from his duties straightaway.

I know that recruiting's important, but this whole situation is getting pretty ridiculous. In the "money talks" world of college football, little is sacred anymore, but you should at least have the decency to let the guy you hired finish the job you hired him to do.

How about Rasheed Wallace getting booted last night for whining about calls to the refs?!? He got two T's in the 3rd quarter. Since he is so accustomed to whining to the refs about calls, I put the over/under for how many games he gets ejected from for collecting T's for whining at 10 games.

Yeah, shooting 39% from the field in a game indicates that you suck as a basketball player. Here's a quick list of players that have shot as poor of a percentage in a game as Adam Morrisson did last night.

Yep, Adam Morrisson sure does suck. Just like the rest of the people on the list. You're a tool Dan.

Seriously, what the hell is your problem with Morrisson? Yes, he's a cry baby. No, he won't be ROY unless his numbers are higher than what I expect them to be (15,5,2). However, you just lay into him because he's not as good as Lebron, Wade, or Carmelo in their first seasons. Jesus, no one said he would be.

The hype is justified, the Colts-Pats are a great rivalry, and has big implications on Home Field advantage come Playoff time...plu Adam 'Clutch' V. coming back to the Razor and being a Sunday night game helps push the hysteria...

Did anyone notice the poor free throw shooting last night? No you didn't. Well, it's pretty poor, the Celts/Bobcats missed like 30.

I would much rather see Isiah's confidence build up after his team goes 25-10, then his ego will be boiling over to the point he says I will be a player coach. And then it's time for the team to play keep-away from Isiah...you know this will happen, admit it.

"Michigan St fires John L. Smith: But now finds itself in the AWK-ward position of having him coach out the string. That's like living with your girl/boyfriend, then breaking up, but yet continuing to live with them. No, it's not pretty. Yes, I'm speaking from experience."

Like the married couple here in RI who made yesterday's paper because, they had filed for divorce, were still living together (miserably) for months, and the wife took off for Cape Cod, rented a cottage, and killed herself.

Of course, as a college football program ,the boosters will probably get to Smith before he offs himself, but hey...

The is no worse experience than braking up with a gf and still having to live with them. I don't think firing your coach midseason is anywhere near as close. Been there done that wiped our asses with FSU.

I hate pro bball. Players are greedy selfish and possibly even worse thugs than NFL players are. I love college ball and I guess all that money makes them think they are invincible or above the law or something once they turn pro. This being said my fiancee made me watch the bulls magic game last night. We have an ongoing bet over our respective teams. Hers are all from chicago and since tampa doesnt have a pro team I got stuck with the magic as my team somewhow. How she got this idea I have no idea as I have detested the nba since shaq decided he was going to make bad movies and worse rap albums and moved to LA to pursue this dream. (its the real reason the magic lost him) My girl kept telling me how she was worried that this howard kid was going to destroy her bulls for the last few weeks and telling me he would make me want to at least watch the magic games to see what he can do. After what I saw last night I might have to go see that kid in person. What do I know the magic will probably suck as always but I bet they will be fun to watch at times.

I cant wait to see the lightning take on the penguins next week. I never thought hockey could be as popular as it is in florida but that is what stanley cups will do for a fanbase.

Sorry im so circumloquatious today Im a bit scatterbrained as my mom is under the knife.

OH yeah dan just curious but were you like me, who knew the gators were going to win the title last year when they were the last team to lose. I knew it in my heart just like I know that the gators fball team is going to win the national title this year. Same with 96. Things have a way of going our way when it is our destiny. I mean come on we didnt play anyone in the tournament last year. Somehow those drunk hillbillies in WV will mess up after beating louisville tonite. Gators move to third and from there it is clear sailing to the title game.

Proclaim it with me Dan

Florida Gators first team to hold Football and BBall titles simultaneously.

I had a mild thought to myself, too, about Isiah pulling a "Cousy with Cincinnati" back in '69-'70 and suiting up.

I'm very curious to see Pats-Colts come down to a kick. I'm not completely convinced it's going to be the Pats getting bit in the ass by it, either. Adam V. shanked one in Denver in last year's playoff loss, too.

I saw some highlights from the NBA....I see way too much of this: Players slam into somebody as they drive down the lane, and then they fall off, take two steps and a fadeaway. THAT'S the traveling that needs to be called.

Finally, a simple question for folks. If you're a baseball player and your contract runs out, what happens if you DON'T file for free agency? The name in my head is Suppan, since he just filed. If he doesn't have a contract, well he just can't automatically go back to St. Louis ANYWAYS, can he? Would the failure to actually FILE institute the old reserve clause from way back when? Does anyone know this?

I actually don't think the Pats-Colts game is going to come down to a kick. As much as I would love to see Adam V. bend that crowd over as time runs out with a game winner, I just think this is going to be lopsided. I really have no prediction though on which way it is going to go. The Pats coming off handing a beatdown to the Vikings seem like an easy call, but it is hard to bet against Peyton Manning the way he has played thus far.

Gary, apologies if I offended. I was trying (albeit wryly) to place perspective on the firing as just that, simply a firing and not something as real and painful as a bitter breakup/divorce (I should have put more emphasis on the latter point). (Note: I deliberately left out the sad events surrounding the daughter in order to keep emphasis on my now-misguided attempt at pointing out the absurd rather than the tragic).

The Pats injury report is also stacked with probables and the like, heck Brady has been on there everyday of his career it seems, but he has yet to miss a start, I believe, since taking over for Ble-doe in 01...

And so is Ronaldo Balkman, the league MVP and Rookie of the Year...contributing a whopping 0 points out of 118 to the Knicks 3OT win...but he did have 4 rebs, 1 blk, and 1 steal, so he's clearly an important roleplayer. And he's unselfish.

Coaches/Players always say they focus on only the upcoing game, but NE going 5-wide against MIN seems like a setup for IND. I see NE playing 2 TE for most of this game and smashing IND up the middle to setup play action. As for IND's injury report, Nick Harper would be the only one of concern: he received a nasty hit from one of the Bells (Mike I think).

All you need to know about the Colts-Patriots game is that it's regular season. The Colts have won 28 straight regular season games in which their playoff seed wasn't already wrapped up. Colts win this game, go on to take HFA and somehow bomb in the playoffs as always.

"Players slam into somebody as they drive down the lane, and then they fall off, take two steps and a fadeaway. THAT'S the traveling that needs to be called."

Traveling is defined as more than 2 steps.

Kobe being out is a gift to the other Lakers. It gives Odom a chance to regain his mojo from late last season after a difficult summer. It also gives some of the young players (Bynum, Turiaf, Farmar) a chance to show what they got.

I also agree with Father of Logan that the free throw shooting so far has been putrid. The conditioning of most of the NBA also reeks.

There will be ahealthy dose of Dillon and Mauroney in this Sunday's game. At least 15 carries a piece, and that is conservative. Minny had a great run defense, that is why they went 5-wide...and trust me, I liked the 5-wide over running anyday, but I think it's gonna be run, run, run, to work the clock and keep Peyton off the field...

I didn't see the Magic game, but didn't Grant Hill have a stellar game? It sounds to me like, just like each of the last few years, their success rides on his legs. Fortunately, they might have the best team since he joined to offset his inevitable breakdown.

If I'm a university with a lame duck coach, I say don't fire him. Then he gets your money and the ability to do what he couldn't do for you at another school. Instead, hire a *second* head coach, and let your first guy either quit and lose his contract money, or help the team (and his chances of getting hired again). Or, if his contract allows it, move him to O- or D-coordinator. You're paying him, and he is knowledgeable at the game. He just can't head coach, so move him.

Once you land after bumping off someone, the first step you take establishes the trail foot as the pivot. That's not allowed off the ground except in the act of shooting. (I did actually read the exacts on it in an NCAA manual once....yeah yeah, the NBA probably *would* define it differently.)

Of course, traveling really should be easy to call on a simple sniff test.

I have an idea for the magic. How about since Grant Hill is so fragile but always starts the year well, why not play him for a month then make him rest for a month, and keep alternating until the playoffs start. That way he maybe won't get injured and he'll be ready to go for the playoffs. You just have to hope they get anough wins to get in. But it still beats the inevitable year ending injury the way they're doing things now.

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DanShanoff.com is a sports-blog spin-off of my long-time ESPN.com column, "The Daily Quickie." Anchored by an early-morning post of must-know topics, the blog is updated frequently throughout the day with new posts and user comments.